Universities choosing more cheap, part-time faculty to fill voids in education
#HigherEd
The Daily Emerald reported this week on a rising trend among colleges that want to trim down their faculty costs. While there are plenty of capable academics out there, many are being forced to take adjunct positions rather than tenured spots because universities don’t want to pay up:
“According to Pullias Center of Higher Education, in 1969 tenured professors comprised 78 percent of college teaching jobs in America. Today that number is nearly inversed in favor of non-tenure track professors, who are more favorable for their shorter contracts and lower pay. Some non-tenure track faculty can still be considered career instructors on longer contracts, but there are many who are on year-to-year contracts or, in some cases, term-to-term.” – Troy Brynelson, the Daily Emerald
On the plus side, it seems that this trend is attempting to keep costs low for students, who are already paying record amounts for their college educations, but students have to wonder what the quality of the education they’re getting is. When teachers aren’t fully committed to their jobs because they live in fear of being booted next semester, how can they focus their mind-power on developing an effective course?
Florida State Trooper steals student newspapers to protect his friend
#Crime
In one of the most bizarre stories across college news this week, a man was caught on film stealing a large stack of UNF’s student newspaper, the Spinnaker. The man turned out to be Steven Coppola, a UNF graduate and member of Northeast Florida’s Highway Patrol Troop G. The Spinnaker reported on his confession and the reason that Coppola took the papers:
“Coppola said that after receiving a phone call from a friend who read Spinnaker’s June 12 issue, he was concerned about the Police Beat section…A friend of Coppola’s, 25 year-old Joshua Hott, …was arrested outside of the Lazzara Performing Arts Center May 30 and charged with video voyeurism…The police report said a suspect was seen taking video of an 18 year-old male as he was using the restroom. The victim noticed and chased the suspect outside where he tackled him to the ground. The victim’s parents held the suspect there until police arrived.” – Connor Spielmaker, Spinnaker
Coppola apparently managed to take (or help take) over 3000 Spinnakers that went missing the night that the story came out. While it doesn’t appear that the Florida Highway Patrol will take any action against Coppola – who was off-duty at the time – students are calling the actions “a form of censorship.”
Dartmouth under investigation after 30+ violations reported by students and alumni
#Crime
Complaints of sexual assault, gender-based, racial and religious discrimination, hate crimes, bullying, and hazing have prompted the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to initiate a compliance review at Dartmouth University. While the review was reportedly not related to any single incident, this student-led movement is unprecedented at the college:
“This isn’t the end for Dartmouth. It’s only going to get bigger…This is the largest influx of complaints the D.O.E. has received in its history. The momentum is building around the problems on college campuses.” – Andrea Pino, as reported in The Dartmouth
Dartmouth is not alone in being suspected of some sort of Title IX violation. A number of colleges have come under scrutiny recently, and the trend suggests that students, faculty, and alumni are becoming more aware of and open to reporting these violations.
SEC Football breakdown from The Independent Florida Alligator
#Sports
The Southeastern Conference has dominated college football’s national championship for the past 7 years, so keeping an eye on the SEC really means keeping an eye on the top dogs in the game. Adam Lichtenstein offers up a quick overview on both the old dynasties and the new entrants to the conference in his column this week.
What college news were you keeping up with this week? Feel free to leave your top stories in the comments below.